Glamour
Glamour (usually stylized as glAMOUR) is a South Korean girl group signed under WG Entertainment. There are currently five permanent members who founded the group, and one probationary member. The group was assembled as a joint project between Won Shik Gyo and the group's leader Mee Yon Choi. They have quickly gained success and now make frequent appearances in Top Five music charts. They are considered the "sister group" to the boy group TYPHOON, in part because two members of glAMOUR have brothers in TYPHOON. The members of both groups have become familiar faces to the public, both through their music as well as through guest appearances on many variety shows. These variety shows are credited with assisting the quick rise in glAMOUR's popularity, as they have gained many new fans through their candid antics and showing off their personalities on the show. The girls also have frequent appearances on WGtv/TYPHOONtv (choose one!), a behind-the-scenes show which airs weekly on MNET as well as on the WGEnt official website. 'Members' glAMOUR consists of six girls, each who have had various amounts of training within the company: Choi Mee Yon, Akiyama "Megumi", Kwang "Eun Soo", Moon "Mi Na", Lee "Hea Woo", and new probationary member as of May 2011 Tea "Hea Ryung". *Choi Mee Yon (최 미 욘) 1992 (age 18) lead rapper, lead singer and leader (The Edgy One) *Akiyama "Megumi" (아키야마 메구미) 1992 (age 19) main singer (The Cute One) *Kwang "Eun Soo" (강 은 수) 1991 (age 20) singer and rapper (The Serious One) *Moon "Mi Na" (문 미 나) 1987 (age 24) singer (The Pretty One) *Lee "Hea Woo" (이 헤아 우) 1989 (age 22) singer (The Sweet One) *Tae "Hea Ryung" (태 헤아 륭) 1995 (age 16) singer, maknae and probationary member (The Young One) 'Pre-Debut' glAMOUR is the second group formed by Choi Mee Yon, Akiyama “Megumi” and Kwang “Eun Soo.” Prior to the formation of the group glAMOUR, they were members of a three-girl idol group called Crystal. The members were all trainees under WG Entertainment prior to being selected to form Crystal. Upon selection, the three girls moved into a small single bedroom dorm together and after four months of preparations the group made their debut with their first - and only - mini album "Crystal Clear." The group released and promoted three singles before disbanding six months later. At the time there were rumors circulating the tabloids that the break up of the group was due to personal issues and that the three members couldn't stand each other. These rumors were ultimately laid to rest when it was revealed that the three girls continued to live and train together after Crystal had disbanded. The truth behind the break-up was that the group’s leader Mee Yon wasn't entirely happy with the group's "idol" concept and the kind of music they were making. She'd spent several years refining her rapping and had always been a fan of hip-hop and dance music, rather than the music Crystal was making, which she had dubbed "sugar pop for little girls." In short, she didn't feel like it suited her personality and she couldn't believe in the music that they were putting out. Although her own style was incorporated into Crystal's costuming, the overall girly-girl and stereotypical fragile-female image that was expected was uncomfortable to her. Upon discussing this with the other two girls, they agreed that it just wasn't who they were and that they all felt unsatisfied, and not just because their album and singles were doing mediocre in the charts. Mee Yon approached manager and producer Won Shik about deviating from the "norm" of what was popular at the time and creating a girl group that could contend on the same field as the boy groups, with an edgier flavour and sound. Something bigger and better – and most importantly, different. At first he was reluctant to break up the group, but after weeks of discussions, he eventually came to agree with Mee Yon's vision and together they assembled the final lineup for the new project, keeping the girls from Crystal but adding two further girls who were more recent additions to the company's repertoire of trainees. And thus glAMOUR was born. The five girls moved into a slightly larger two bedroom dorm together and began the preparations for their debut. The new line-up was highly hyped, and there was a lot of theorizing by netizens as to what the concept of the new group would be and who would be involved. The particulars of the group were kept completely confidential from the public, in part to allow the anticipation to build. After five months of preparation, and a month of teasers being released on WG Entertainment’s official website, their debut mini album - controversially and rather ambitiously titled "Number One" - was released. 'Debut and 1st Mini Album' Their official debut was on the 17 February 2010 episode of MNET Countdown where they performed their first single “Let The Music Play”. The song ranked in 9th place that first week of release, and the girls were emotional on stage as it hit them that their first song was an immediate top-ten hit. The group was well-received and after that initial performance, the sales of their mini album took off, eventually claiming the number one spot and holding it for four consecutive weeks, far outdoing anything that they had achieved as Crystal. Their first single climbed the charts and peaked at number 5 two weeks after its release. Meanwhile, the nation had seemed to have caught the bug, and the teasers for the group’s second single “Danger” were racking up thousands of views online. Upon release on 31 March 2010, it immediately achieved 3rd place in the MNET Countdown and held the spot for three weeks. glAMOUR followed this up with the up-beat dance hit “One More Time” on 14 April 2010 and became their first number one single, achieving a Triple Crown win and beating out long-standing chart-toppers SUPERgirls, nudging their own number one out of the coveted position. Their fourth and final single from their debut album, “Playing With Fire” was released on 5 May 2010. It debuted at number 4 on the charts, but climbed to steal the number one slot the following week and holding it for five consecutive weeks, which was nearly unheard of for such a rookie group. The success of the last two singles made album sales soar and it officially reached the number one spot on 10 May 2010 – proving that the title Number One was anything but an unrealistic goal. 'Late 2010 - Second Mini Album' Following the success of their debut mini-album, the group had a series of performances as WG Entertainment Group concerts as well as one-off performances on music charts and other television shows. The girls of glAMOUR quickly became known for their high energy live performances and elaborate dance routines, and the girls were soon extended invitations to guest on several of the popular variety shows. Their down-to-earth nature and true, fun personalities shone through and their popularity only rose higher the more they were exposed to the public. No time was wasted and before Playing With Fire had even dropped off the charts, preparations for their second mini album were already well under way. The girls continued to appear on variety shows both as a group and individuals, while preparations were ongoing in the background. The songs were written in a relatively short time and another four months passed while their next project was prepared and recorded. Once again, WG Entertainment employed suspense marketing techniques, and for three weeks, teasers including audio, video, and promotional imagery was released via the official website. Finally on 21 September 2010, the music video for the song Bounce was released online, while at the same time the song became available for purchase as a digital single on iTunes and through the WGEnt website. On 25 September, the girls had their official comeback stage on Inkigayo where they performed their new song. The song and choreography were both hits with the crowd, but over the coming weeks it was clear that they weren't going to make their comeback to an immediate number one - ultimately the song peaked at 5th place. Still, preorders for the Envy Mini Album continued to come in via various music retailers, and when it was officially released on 30 September 2010 in conjunction with the title track, the album debuted at Number 6 in the music charts and finally climbed to take the Number 3 slot over the coming weeks. The group once again appeared on MNET Countdown to perform their newest single live on its release date, and the song debuted at number 2, eventually hitting the number one slot and holding it for three weeks. The next song to be released as a single was the song Cold Shoulder, which was released on a Halloween Special episode of Music Bank. The girls appeared on stage styled in Halloween attire - dark, fantasy costumes ("Mi Na" was dressed as a Siren, "Megumi" appeared as a stylized ghost, "Eun Soo" was costumed as a witch, "Hea Woo" as a demon, and Mee Yon as a vampiress). The costumes, as well as the song, were a hit - though didn't garner them another number one. The song debuted at number 3 and stayed there for two weeks. The final song to be released from their second mini album was the alluring song Just For Tonight. Different from the rest of the group's releases to date, Just For Tonight had a far more reserved and soft feel, foregoing the edgy dance beats and heavy synth, and instead focusing almost solely on the girls' vocals to carry the song; the public could love it, or it could bomb as the feel of the song was completely different from everything else they were known for. Luckily, song was an unparallelled success, debuting in the number one slot, winning them first place on Inkigayo on their debut performance, and achieving glAMOUR's first All Kill across the live daily and weekly music charts. It maintained the number one position for six full weeks before finally dropping through the ranks. 'Early 2011 - First Full-Length Album' blahblahblah bby 'Discography' Singles Albums Mini-Albums Category:Groups